Disclaimers:
The characters of Xena, Gabrielle, Darphus, and some others are
all the property
of Renaissance Pictures and are borrowed here without any express written
consent on the part of the producers or distributors of the program. (In
fact, they’d probably be rather distressed to see what I’ve done with one
or two of their characters.) Any characters that have not appeared in any
episode of "Xena: Warrior Princess" or
"Hercules: The Legendary
Journeys" are products of my rather warped imagination and therefore
are mine and mine alone.

This tale takes place during the reign of Xena, Conqueror
of Nations, as presented in the episode of Hercules called Armageddon Now,
Part II. Callisto has succeeded in killing Alcmene, Herc's mommy, before
he was born, so he's not around as an adult to tame the wild Xena and put
her on the path toward goodness and light. Some of the things
that are depicted
here are not for the weak of mind or faint of heart. There is violence of
several sorts, both sexual and non-sexual. This story also involves sexual
situations between persons of the same sex, (you mean there's
another kind?),
BDSM, and bestiality. If these offend you, they are illegal
where you live,
or if you are under the age of consent where you live, don't let the door
hit you in the butt as you retreat from these pages.

This is not the same Xena the Conqueror that others have
written about. If you are expecting the same old Gabrielle redeems the
Conqueror
story, this isn't it. If you are expecting the same old Gabrielle and Xena
rule together story, this isn't it.

For providing guidance and encouragement, I wish to thank
Tori (who has been there for me and kept me from falling totally apart more
times than I care to remember), Sandy (for holding Tori together while Tori
was holding me together), Val, Liz, Kim, Dina, and Angie. A special thanks
to the newest presence in my life who has shown me that the two first-class
women who grace my life are not flights of fancy. Last, but not least, to
the Phantom Kisser for, well, you know…

Xena looked
out the window
at the sunlight beaming down on the rooftops of the city. The monotonous
drone of the official from -- what town was it? Dermus?
Doormouse? Draemus?
Yes, that's it, Draemus! -- was serving no other purpose than to put her to
sleep. She really had no desire to sit and listen to another droll little
individual give her a drachma by drachma accounting of where the money went
and why some expenditures were really necessary. When would these idiots
learn that all they had to do was send her a parchment with the figures on
it so she could read them for herself? Instead, they all wanted
to ingratiate
themselves to the Conqueror, make themselves known so that maybe they, too,
could someday be a part of the royal entourage.

"Give
me the bottom
line, Trenus. How much are you in the black this season?" Xena asked,
fed up with the boredom.

"Conqueror, I am
pleased to announce we are seven thousand dinars to the good after such a
plentiful harvest."

"And what do you
plan to do with this money, Trenus?"

"Why,
turn it over
to the Empire, of course, your Majesty." Trenus looked as though he
thought Xena might have thought he was holding some of the money back for
himself. That bothered him, for unlike the leaders of other
villages in Greece,
he knew how dangerous such an act would be. The Conqueror did not tolerate
local officials who thought they could skim the profits that were to go to
the Empire. Being on the border of the northern Barbarian regions, Draemus
was often the target of raids by small bands from the armies that
were poised
on the border to invade Greece once the word was given. Xena kept an army
garrisoned near the village to help repel the raiders and protect
the village.
For that, alone, Trenus was grateful to the Conqueror.

The Conqueror turned
to the Treasurer of the Realm. "Make sure that Trenus
receives a bonus
of one thousand dinars for his personal use as a reward for his honesty and
loyalty."

"Thank
you so much,
my Liege," Trenus smiled. "I look forward to meeting
with you again
after next harvest." He bowed and backed away three steps
before turning
and going out the door.

"Who's
next?"
Xena asked. Darphus stepped up beside her.

"Your Majesty, we
have arrived at the criminals who are to be tried and sentenced for their
transgressions against the realm and her citizens." Xena
sat up a little
straighter. This was one task she enjoyed -- meting out
punishment to those
who deserved it, rightly or wrongly. Five men in chains were led into the
throne room and stood before her.

"First,"
Darphus
barked. A tall, rotund man with a three-day growth of beard and two weeks'
worth of filth covering him stepped forward.

Xena
muttered under her
breath, "His crime must be smelling like an unmucked out
stable."

Darphus suppressed a
smile and read from the scroll he held. "Singis is accused
of the crime
of robbery in that he stole a loaf of bread and ten dinars from the baker
in a nearby village."

"What do you have
to say for yourself before I pass sentence?" Xena asked the
accused.

"Your Eminence,
I took the bread to feed my children. Your army left us with nothing. I
took the money so I could buy food in the future."

"For the crime of
theft, I sentence you to ten lashes with the whip, followed by ten suns in
the dungeon, and your left hand is to be cut off as a reminder of
what you've
done and to let others who might be so inclined know how the Destroyer of
Nations deals with those who break my laws." Xena looked at the man,
who was visibly shaking. "You will serve as an example for
lengths around.
Now go." She gave a slight wave with her hand and the guard led the
man away. "Next."

A lank, short man with
chains pinning his arms to his body stood before her. Xena was surprised
to see that he was one of her soldiers. Darphus' voice carried a
sneer, "Algus
is accused of beating, and then raping the daughter of a resident
of Poteidaia
when we raided that village six moon cycles ago. We just now
caught him because
he got drunk one night and started bragging." Her second-in-command
looked up to see dark fury in Xena's normally bright blue
eyes.

Xena rose
from her throne
and walked down the steps until she was nose to nose with the
man. "When
you joined my army, you swore an oath to obey my orders and rules. One of
those rules carries the death penalty, and that is the rule you've chosen
to break. Rape. Even the word disgusts me. How old was the
woman you raped?"

"Twelve,
ma'am,"
the man whispered.

Xena
exploded, "Twelve
summers? What in the name of the gods were you
thinking?"

"It had
been a long
time since we'd fought, I had all this energy built up -- we all did -- and
I had to release it somehow. I thought breeding would be the
best way, ma'am,"
the soldier said softly, but matter-of-factly.

"What
you did wasn't
breeding, you scum! It was nothing more than you exerting your
strength and
power over someone smaller and weaker than you. And MY property,
to boot!"
She turned to Darphus. "What became of the child he
assaulted?"

"She is
with child,"
Darphus replied.

Clenched fists at her
side, the Empress turned back to the prisoner. She spoke evenly, without
emotion. "For the crime of rape, you are sentenced to die in a manner
of MY choosing." She stomped back up the steps and sat on
her throne.
"You will be given fifty lashes, then emasculated, both publicly. If
you are still alive after that, you will be nailed naked to a
cross and left
in a field for the vermin to dispose of your carcass." She
looked down
as Darphus started to motion for the guard to take the prisoner
away. "And
one more thing. You will provide Darphus with the name and
location of your
nearest male relative. If the girl dies in childbirth, or if the
baby dies,
your kinsman will experience the same punishment you will
suffer." She
raised her hand and waved the condemned man away. "Darphus, you will
carry out his punishment in front of the other members of his
regiment, then
give each of those men five lashes for not stopping
him."

"I'm too angry to
continue right now. Impose the usual sentences for the crimes. I'm going
back to my quarters.

"Yes,
Empress,"
Darphus bowed as she rose and left the throne room.

Chapter 2

Xena stormed into her
quarters and slammed the door behind her and slumped into the chair behind
her desk.

Alinia,
Xena's personal
slave, placed a goblet of wine at her right hand. "Mistress?"
Xena looked up at her, picked up the goblet and drained it.
Alinia refilled
the goblet, but knew her Mistress had something bothering her.
The Conqueror's
mind wandered back to that day eleven summers ago that helped
forge her steadfast
rule regarding sexual assault against women.

Teenaged
Xena and her best friend Jennas were in the woods, gathering blackberries
for a pie. The two girls had been inseparable from the time they
were toddlers,
running here and running there throughout the village. When villagers saw
one of the girls, the other was not far behind.

The
girls were just finishing a picnic lunch of cheese, meat and
bread that Cyrene
had packed for them and had laid back on the blanket when he arrived. Xena
never found out what warlord he soldiered for or even what he was doing in
this part of Greece, for that matter, although she had tried for
years, finally
deciding that the bastard must have died in battle. She swore
she would never
forget his name, though -- Dimitrios. She had gotten that much out of him
before he made his move.

Xena
knew what he wanted, and was determined that Jennas would not be
hurt in that
way. She offered herself for his gratification, but he just laughed as he
struck her jaw with his fist and she fell unconscious to the ground. When
she regained her senses, she realized she was tied to a tree, the bodice of
her dress torn to expose her breasts, and unbearable pain between
her legs.
Over on the blanket, several lengths away, Jennas lay in a crumpled heap,
her clothing gone, her body riddled with lash marks and bruises. Dimitrios
was nowhere to be seen. "Jennas?" she called. Her
friend stirred.
"Jennas, can you come over here and untie
me?"

As
Jennas got to her knees, Xena saw her face, covered with wounds as though
their attacker had simply drawn his knife across the soft flesh
in a haphazard
manner, wanting only to destroy the beauty that Jennas had once
had. Swallowing
hard, Xena smiled. "Jennas, come untie me so I can get you
to the healer."
Jennas picked up a knife and crawled over to the tree, then cut the ropes
holding Xena in one spot. Xena immediately gathered her friend in her arms
and the two sobbed together. Jennas didn't want to let go of Xena, so they
moved together over to the blanket. The dark-haired future
Conqueror wrapped
her friend in the blanket, then picked her up and carried her the
short distance
back to the village.

As
she walked through the town square, some of the men offered to take Jennas
from her, but Xena refused, asking them only to notify her mother to meet
her at the healer's. Cyrene was there when Xena arrived. Xena
stood silently
while the healer worked on Jennas' many wounds, Cyrene beside her
with a hand
on her daughter's shoulder. Because of the look of hatred on Xena's face,
no one asked what happened, but waited for her to tell them in
her own time.
Only when the healer had finished with the obvious wounds the girl bore did
Xena speak. "She was raped." The healer nodded and went to her
workbench for some more herbs. Cyrene looked down at her daughter and for
the first time saw the ripped bodice and the swollen, bruised
jaw. A solitary
tear rolled down her cheek.

"Xena?
Were you raped too?" her mother asked. Xena sighed, nodded,
and proceeded
to tell her mother what had happened -- at least as much as she knew. The
healer handed the girl a mug of tea.

"It's
bitter, but it will help the healing down there." Xena
nodded and drank
it quickly, then helped hold Jennas up so she could drink some of the same
concoction. Jennas had not spoken a word since Xena had come to,
and as Xena
looked into her eyes, she saw no life, no spark of what Jennas
had been before
this day. And Xena knew that it would only be a matter of time before her
friend chose to cross over the bridge. In fact, it was two moons. Jennas
had disappeared one day and Xena was sent to look for her, for Xena was the
only person to whom she would respond. When Xena found her body, hanging
from the tree underneath which the attack had taken place, the
future warrior
swore vengeance. Somehow, some way, she would find the man who
had violated
them and violate him in a most heinous manner. And while many
people attributed
the birth of the Conqueror to Cortese's attack on Amphipolis, Xena herself
knew that the Conqueror was actually born the day her friend Jennas killed
herself.

Alinia was looking at
her with an anxious expression on her face. She had served the Conqueror
for nine season cycles with love and admiration -- much longer than any of
the other slaves Xena had kept in her household -- and had earned
her Mistress's
implicit and explicit trust. She was also the only person in the realm who
saw a human side of the Destroyer of Nations. But Alinia was more than a
simple slave to Xena -- the two had been friends growing up in
Amphipolis.
It was Alinia who understood Xena's rage when it came to crimes
against women,
for she had seen the transformation Xena had undergone when she had carried
Jennas' body to town for the funeral and tried to remain close when others
began to distance themselves.

When
Cortese had attacked
the village, Alinia's parents had been killed. Xena had taken the orphan
under her wing and they had been inseparable ever since. While
Alinia didn't
approve of everything Xena did, or many of her more cruel actions
toward people,
she stayed loyal to her friend. She was also the only one of the
Conqueror's
slaves that had never been whipped or forcibly bedded, and could
speak openly
to the Conqueror without fear of retribution.

"You're
angry about
something?"

"Yes. Soldiers
who commit rape on twelve-year old girls." Xena drained the
goblet again
and Alinia refilled it once again. "NO one has the right to abuse one
of my subjects except ME!" She drained her goblet again. "Bring
me one of my body slaves. I don't care which one."

Alinia nodded and went
to fetch the slave. The mood Xena was in, the slave knew it would not be
an easy time for the young woman who serviced the Conqueror and
debated with
herself about which one to bring back. She also knew she would spend that
time in the kitchen -- she hated hearing the screams of pain.

Xena quickly removed
the shimmering embroidered satin gown she had been wearing and put on her
brocade robe. A quick check of her quarters confirmed that everything she
wanted was in its proper place. She pulled a flogger and a leather harness
from the wall and placed them where she could easily reach them. She heard
the door behind her open and close quietly and turned to see her
slave. She
smiled; Alinia had chosen well. "Come, Sandria -- you know
what I want
of you."

"Yes,
Mistress."
The slender woman quickly shed her clothing and went over to a
chair against
the wall. She started to sit.

"No, on
your knees
on the floor," Xena ordered. "Face the chair." The woman
complied and the conqueror fastened the woman's hands and arms
above her head
to the back of the chair so that she was leaning with her belly
on the seat.
She spread the slave's legs wide and tied each one to a leg of the chair,
then ran a finger through the woman's slit. "Mmm, you're
already wet.
Good." Xena licked the wetness off her finger, then picked up a small
box and placed it between the helpless woman's legs.

"Yes, ma'am. For
you ma'am." Xena opened another box and pulled something
out, then held
her hand down so Sandria could see it -- a brown rat, about six inches in
length. The slave's eyes grew large -- this was something
new.

"Sandria,
my little
friend here has been especially trained for moments like this." She
put the rat on the box between the slave's legs. The long whiskers tickled
the woman's inner thighs as it sniffed the air, smelling the aroma it had
been trained to seek. Putting its nose between the woman's lips, it began
licking at the wetness that was there. Sandria squirmed as the
rat's little
tongue lapped. Xena's hand smacked hard against the slave's
ass. "Hold
still, bitch!" The rat's tongue found the little nub of pleasure and
began nibbling at it with its long front teeth. Sandria screamed
as the sharp
incisors clamped down hard on her clitoris, drawing blood and
producing pure
pain. The sting of a riding whip on her buttocks produced more
pain but reduced
the screaming to a whimper. Tears were streaming down her cheeks
as the rat
nibbled harder and licked as much of the blood as it
could.

Xena could
feel her own
excitement and wetness growing as she watched her slave's clit
being devoured
by the rat. She reached down and took the rat away, putting it back into
its cage. Turning back to the slave, she was amazed to see the amount of
blood dripping onto the floor. She ran her finger through the
crimson puddle,
put it in her mouth, and savored the metallic flavor. It, alone,
was almost
enough to bring her to climax, but there was a rage inside her that needed
to be quieted. She picked the long bullwhip off the wall and stretched it
out in front of her. "Sandria, who have you serviced since the last
time you were with me?" the Conqueror snarled.

"No
one, ma'am,"
the slave whispered, trying to talk through the excruciating
pain. She flinched
as the thin leather sliced through the skin on her back. She spoke louder,
"No one, ma'am, I swear it!" The whip sang as it
traveled through
the air, biting her back a mere inch from the first welt.

"Then
who was that
I saw you walking in the courtyard with?"

"That
was Demetria,
ma'am. She is one of Darphus' slaves. We have become
friends." Xena's
whip continued landing on her back and buttocks, raising welts,
drawing more
blood that dripped down and mixed with that already on the floor. Xena was
in a state -- some called it a "Warrior's Haze" -- where nothing
short of Death herself could have stopped the punishment she was inflicting
on the undeserving slave. She switched from the bullwhip to a riding crop,
using the smaller instrument on the bottom of the woman's feet, her ankles
and calves, and then the backs of her thighs. Sandria had never known such
pain, had never known her mistress to inflict such punishment on anyone.
It was all the young girl could do to remain conscious.

When she
heard the short
whip clatter to the floor, Sandria looked up, tears from the pain
having stained
her cheeks. Her eyes grew wide as she saw the Conqueror remove her robe to
display what looked like a male member. Specially made for the
Empress from
the finest black marble, the phallus was longer and thicker than
any Sandria
had ever seen. Frightened, the slave struggled against her bonds, knowing
that the device would tear her apart. Quickly, her Mistress knelt behind
her, grabbed the slave's hips and thrust the rod deep inside her womanhood
while pulling the woman's hips to her. Sandria screamed as she
felt her flesh
ripping, the screams only serving to heighten Xena's excitement. Slowly at
first, then faster and harder, roughly enough to induce more bleeding from
her receptacle's clit, Xena moved with the rhythm and animal
instinct of dog
breeding dog. First holding onto the smaller woman's shoulders,
Xena's hands
gradually moved until they were circling the slender neck.
Squeezing tighter
and tighter, Sandria struggled to get her breath, but Xena did not let go.
Neither did she notice when Sandria went limp, but continued her movements
until she exploded in climax, collapsing over the inert woman
beneath her.

Xena roused and stood,
removing the phallus she had used. She then went to untie her slave. Once
loosened from her bonds, Sandria collapsed into the pool of
blood. Xena looked
at the woman a moment, then put two fingers on her neck to feel
for the non-existent
pulse.

"Damn!" she
said out loud. "Killed another one." She went over to
the corner
beside the large ornate bed and pulled the bell rope. Alinia
soon appeared.

"Yes,
Mistress?"
She tried not to look at the carnage surrounding the chair or at
all the blood
covering Xena.

"Get rid of this
rubbish and have someone clean up the mess." Xena sat in the chair by
her desk, not bothering to cover her nudity.

"Yes,
Mistress."
Alinia stopped to cover Sandria' face with a towel, and then went
to the kitchen
to get the help she would need. Half an hour later, Xena was asleep in the
main bedroom while three servants were on their hands and knees cleaning up
the blood. Sandria' body had been removed and taken to the
pauper's cemetery
for burial.

All of the member's of
Xena's household knew of her sexual appetites, for several times they had
been called upon to clean up the carnage created when the Empress
went berserk
with one of her body slaves. But they also knew to speak of such
things beyond
the walls of the castle was to risk being on the receiving end of
such punishment,
and none wanted to have any part of that. Those who were in the know felt
pity for a new household slave who caught the Conqueror's fancy. While the
newcomers thought it an honor to be elevated from common household slave to
Xena's personal slave or body slave, they had no idea that it
could mean their
deaths if the Conqueror took such a notion. Once done with the slave, Xena
always fell into a deep sleep for 12 or more hours, then awoke
refreshed.

Chapter
3

Gabrielle filled the
buckets at the central well and headed back to the small house she shared
with her mother and sister. It was hard eking out an existence
in the reign
of the Conqueror, but they were better off than a lot of people
who had been
displaced by the fierce fighting that had taken place. Every
day, the young
girl thanked the gods for the roof over their heads and the food on their
plates, no thanks to the soldiers in the army of Xena, Destroyer
of Nations.

Xena's
army had swept through Poteidaia six months earlier, killing many
of the men
in the village including Gabrielle's father, despite the
village's surrender.
Gabrielle's curiosity had gotten the best of her while she and her sister
Lila had hidden in the hay loft of the barn and she crept over so she could
look out and see what was happening in the town plaza. Her father already
lay dead along with ten other men -- friends she had known since
she was small.
As a soldier raised his sword to strike another Poteidaian, a whirling disk
sang as it flew through the air, collided with and broke the
sword, and returned
to its thrower -- a magnificent woman on a golden palomino. Gabrielle had
heard the legends of the Warrior Princess so she instantly knew
who had stopped
the execution.

"Darphus!"
the woman screamed. "What are you doing? This village surrendered on
good faith and you come in and start killing all the men? Have
you no honor?"

The
seedy looking man walked up to her. "They weren't moving fast enough
to get the supplies we wanted, my Liege."

"So
you KILLED them??? A taste of the whip is all they needed, not
death!"
Even from where she was hiding, Gabrielle could see Xena's
lieutenant seething
because of his humiliation in front of his men. "The terms of their
surrender included a provision that they would negotiate only with me. You
have broken the terms of the surrender." She dismounted. "For
disobeying me, you will receive five lashes. And let it be a lesson to all
of you -- you don't strike out on your own unless you know
exactly what you're
doing. The difference between being a barbarian and a warrior is honor.
Without honor, you are nothing more than a killing machine. With
honor, you
become someone who will be respected and trusted. And if you can't trust
the man fighting next to you, who can you trust?" She walked down the
line of soldiers standing at attention, and then looked at the dead bodies
littering the plaza. She looked at the houses surrounding the
square, knowing
that behind the shutters and barred doors, villagers waited in
fear that they
would be the next to die. "The families of each of these men will be
given fifty dinars. I know nothing will bring back your husbands, fathers,
brothers, and sons, but never let it be said that Xena the
Conqueror condoned
what happened here today." With that, the warrior remounted her horse
and rode out of the village. The soldiers slowly filed out
behind her.

Since her father had
died, Gabrielle had worked hard to keep her mother and sister
from just giving
up and going through the motions of just living. Hecuba and Herodotus had
been married 25 summers. He had been her first love and she
his. And while
he had been disappointed she hadn't given him a son, he was equally proud
of both his daughters. Gabrielle had always been headstrong and
independent
while Lila had doted on her father, seeking his constant
approval.

Because neither Hecuba
nor Lila had seen what transpired the day Herodotus died, they
both harbored
a deep hatred for the Conqueror. Gabrielle, however, had
developed an interest
in this Destroyer of Nations who apparently had a Code of Honor. Xena was
unlike any other warlord Gabrielle had heard about who cared little who was
killed on the journey to victory, and she had impressed the
peasant girl with
the fury she had displayed upon learning her men were
slaughtering innocents.

Gabrielle
set the pails
on the dry sink and sat down to catch her breath. She jumped with a start
when the door flew open and Lila rushed in.
"Gabrielle!!" she said
excitedly.

"Slow
down, Lila.
What is it?"

"Did you hear the
news? They caught the soldier who raped Naglus. Xena sentenced him to a
slow, painful death. And if Naglus or the baby dies, one of the
scum's male
relatives will die, too!!!"

"Sounds as if the
Conqueror has a sense of justice, after all," Gabrielle
pointed out.

"They
said the Conqueror
was really furious!"

"I
imagine she was.
I've always heard she's forbidden her troops to kill women and children.
Raping a woman is worse. Raping a child is
unpardonable."

Lila grabbed
some cookies
from the sideboard and flopped down in a chair to eat them.
"Well, I've
heard she's a mean old bitch who has a contract with Hades himself for send
as many souls to Tartarus as she can. And don't forget, she
killed Father."

Gabrielle
sighed, "How
many times do I have to tell you, she punished the men who killed
Father and
the others because they were acting against her
wishes."

"I just don't see
how you can defend her."

Hecuba
walked in carrying
a basket of vegetables. Gabrielle jumped up, took the basket
from her mother
and set it on the counter. She then poured a cup of water and handed it to
the older tired woman who had occupied her usual chair at the
table. "Thank
you, precious." She took a long drink, and then set the cup
on the table.
"What have you two been up to, today?"

Lila
scowled. "We
were talking about the Conqueror."

A tired smile crossed
her mother's lips. "Yes, she is quite the topic of
conversation in the
marketplace. Naglus' mother is weeping with joy at the news that
her daughter's
tragedy will not go unpunished."

Gabrielle cleared her
throat, hesitating to change the subject. "Mother, it's time for me
to go visit grandmother again." Hecuba's mother lived on a farm two
days' journey from Poteidaia. Gabrielle and her father had made the trip
several times a season, taking food, medicines, and other
supplies, and spent
several suns, or even half a moon, helping out on the farm.
Though no longer
producing livestock or marketable crops, the elderly woman
resisted all efforts
to move her to Poteidaia where caring for her would be easier. In the time
since her father's death, Gabrielle had made the journey
alone.

Hecuba
sighed. "You're
right, of course. The snows will come soon enough. When do you
want to leave?"

"Tomorrow,
mother.
The nights are already starting to get cold. Lila and I can spend the rest
of the day packing the wagon. I pretty much have all the supplies in one
place."

Lila scrunched up her
face. "I wanted to go swimming this
afternoon."

Hecuba smiled at her
youngest daughter. "If you hurry, you'll still have time for a swim
before supper." As Lila perked up and headed for the door, Gabrielle
saw the worry on her mother's face.

"Let's
go, Gabs."
With typical teenaged enthusiasm, she bounced out the door.

"OK."
Gabrielle
turned to her mother. "I'll be all right."

"You
know how people
have just disappeared, recently, child." Hecuba paused. "And I
had a dream last night."

"I'll
be very careful.
And this is one of your dreams that is NOT going to come
true."

"I pray
to the gods
you're right. At the first sign of trouble, you run, Gabrielle. I don't
want to lose you, too."

"I'll
stick to the
main road and not take any side trips, mother. I should be back
in less than
a moon's cycle."

At the end
of three hours,
Gabrielle called for a rest period. Lila went in the house, got two cups
of water and brought them out. Handing one to Gabrielle, who had
parked herself
under a tree, she sat on a bench nearby. "Thanks,
Lila," Gabrielle
said before taking a sip of the cool liquid.

"What do you do
at Granny's, Gab? It's got to be awfully boring."

"No, not really.
I help her get food enough to eat for the moons I'm not there --
salt or smoke
the meat, get vegetables stored in the root cellar, stuff like
that."

"But what do you
talk about all day?"

"She
tells me stories
-- she's where I get a lot of the stories I tell at the inn and during the
festivals. And she's teaching me about herbs and how to be a
healer."
Gabrielle paused. "And she tells me a lot about mom when
she was a girl.
You know, from what Grandmother says, you're a lot like
her."

"Really?"
Lila
asked. "How?"

"It
seems like mother
was pretty boy-crazy until she met father." Lila blushed. "And
she was kind of a tomboy like you -- she liked to fish and swim and stuff
like that."

"Thanks,
Gabs!"
Lila jumped up and disappeared. Shaking her head in amusement, Gabrielle
finished loading the supplies, covered them with a canvas
tarpaulin, and then
went in to help her mother prepare dinner.

Chapter
4

"Darphus!!"
Xena the Conqueror was restless. It had been months since she'd
been outside
the city walls and weeks since she'd even ventured outside the
castle walls.
Her ice-blue eyes watched as her second in command slithered into the room
and bowed before her throne. She smelled him as he got closer
and tried hard
not to gag -- unwashed and unshaven for weeks, his odor preceded him by a
good ten paces.

"You
called, Empress?"

"I want to go on
a hunt. I feel like a prisoner in my own castle. I need to get
out and smell
the clean air and feel the sun on my face."

"But
Empress,"
Darphus smiled, "it still isn't safe for you to go out. My
men are still
finding the pockets of resistance I've told you about. As soon as we get
rid of one, another pops up. And I would hate for it to be said that the
Destroyer of Nations was killed because I did not do my
job."

Xena looked
at him carefully,
not knowing if she should believe him or not. If his troops were unable to
crush a few dissatisfied peasants, maybe it was time she thought
about replacing
him. "All right, Darphus. I will give you and your men one
more week.
If things are not cleaned up by then, I will find someone who CAN
do the job.
Is that understood?"

"Yes, Conqueror.
Will there be anything else?"

"Yes.
Take a bath,
and use soap. I will not have anyone in my command smelling like he just
took a roll in a pigsty. Any enemy downwind of you can detect you a league
away." She turned to her personal slave. "Open the windows to
get rid of that stench." The slave bowed and went to open the windows
and let the fresh air inside.

Darphus
bowed and backed
away from the Empress for several paces, then turned and walked
out the door.
Xena walked over to the window and took some deep breaths trying to rid her
deepest sinuses of the offensive odor.

Take
a bath, indeed! Darphus fumed as he left the
Conqueror's
chambers. By the time I'm through with
you, that's one more thing you'll regret saying to
me! Actually,
the idea of a hunt pleased Darphus. He and some others had been plotting
for several moons on the best way to rid the Empire of Xena and take over
its leadership. There are so many different things that can
happen on a hunt
that could cause a hunter's death, no one would think twice about the news
that the Conqueror had been so badly injured that she did not survive. And
with the rules of succession as they were at that moment, he was first in
line to become Emperor. He chuckled to himself. That
bitch really thinks she can trust me! She's given me a week to
plan her own
demise! He hurried off to find Jamus, his lieutenant,
and to begin
making plans.

Xena sighed
and returned
to her desk. She had known of Darphus' desire to take over her position as
Emperor of the Known World for several weeks, now -- ever since
the new body
slave she had been using had revealed, with some persuasion, of course, her
knowledge of her Second-in-Command's plans. That was the beauty of taking
Darphus' household slaves for herself -- she learned much from them about
what Darphus was thinking and planning. And Darphus paid so
little attention
to his slaves, he never knew when one had left and another had
taken her place.
Once Xena had extracted what she needed from them, the slaves disappeared,
never to be seen again.

"Are
you sure going
on a hunt is such a good idea?" Alinia asked. "You
could get hurt
or killed, if Lord Darphus has his way." The slave's brown
eyes showed
the fear she held for her mistress's safety.

The Conqueror smiled.
"I'm counting on him using this opportunity to at least try. But he
doesn't know that I'm aware of his plan to depose me and take over. That
gives me the advantage." She picked up a scroll, began
reading it, and
then put it down again. "I will need for you to do one thing for me,
Alinia."

"Yes,
ma'am. Anything
you say."

Xena rose and walked
over to the window. "Find my leathers and my armor. I'm not going to
wait the week that I told him -- I'm going out tonight, alone.
Have the stable
master get Argo ready as though for a simple ride around the courtyard, and
threaten him with loss of some body part if he should tell
anyone."

"Alone?
" Alinia
asked, alarmed. "I'm not to go with you?"

"Yes,
Alinia, alone.
Pack the saddlebags with enough road provisions for a quarter-moon as well
as my bedroll and all the other things I used to carry. While I'm gone, I
want you to find out which slave of Darphus' or Jamus' will have
the knowledge
of their plans so I can extract the information I'll need. When you find
out, bring that slave here to me."

Alinia
nodded. "Yes,
ma'am. It won't be too hard to find out. Give them a little too
much wine,
and they'll brag about what they've heard."

"Don't
put yourself
in any danger," Xena admonished.

"I
won't, ma'am,"
Alinia smiled. No one would believe that Xena, Conqueror of Nations, could
actually care about the well being of a lowly slave. "Is
there anything
else I can do for you, Ma'am?"

"No.
Just get started
on everything -- I want to leave just after
sundown."

"What will I tell
anyone who wants to meet with you?"

"Um,
tell them I'm
having my pre-bleeding cycle curse -- no one wants to be near me
during that."

"Tell them I've
found another to bed for now and I'm giving them a rest. Or bring them up
here, get them drunk, give them the amnesia herb, and bed them yourself.
They'll never know the difference." Alinia blushed. "Oh, yes,
I forgot -- you don't need sex the way I do. Which reminds me -- make sure
I have about a hundred dinars in case I need cash. Not gold -- get me the
type of currency the commoners are using." Xena smiled. "Go now
-- there's lots to do."

"Yes,
ma'am,"
Alinia nodded. She saw that an old sparkle had returned to Xena's eyes --
a look of happiness she had not seen in them in a very long
time. The slave
left to deliver the message to the stable master, then returned and began
preparing for the Conqueror's departure.

******

Darkness
began creeping
over the land as the sun slid behind the horizon. The activities
of the daylight
slowly ground to a halt and the activities of the nighttime came
to life and
action.

Xena had
donned her leathers,
the smell and texture bringing back some wonderful memories. "Alinia,
you've done a wonderful job maintaining these."

"Thank
you, ma'am,"
the slave blushed. She helped her mistress don her armor, greaves, bracers
and epaulets, and then handed her her favorite sword and chakram
to complete
the transformation from Xena, Empress of the Known World to Xena, Warrior
and Hunter.

Xena jumped
up and down
to settle everything into place. "By the gods, it all still fits. I
was a bit worried with all this rich food and soft living that I had gotten
too big for my leathers."

"Not at
all, ma'am.
You look wonderful!" Xena smiled. "Please be careful,
Xena?"
The Conqueror knew that it took a lot for her old friend to use
her name.

"I promise. If
I'm not back in two quarter-moons, or if you have a problem and need me to
return, send Callas to find me. I will head north toward
Poteidaia -- there's
an area there that is said to be home to some of the finest boar
in Greece.
It's a one-sun ride from here. Callas knows where it is."
She put her
hand on her slave's shoulder. "You have my permission to do whatever
you need to do to convince people I'm still here, including impersonate me
if you must. Just try not to antagonize Darphus, all
right?"

The slave moved closer
to the Conqueror. "I shall miss you." Her lips
tentatively sought
a kiss from her old friend. Xena captured her mouth, devouring it with a
passion she never displayed with her body slaves and pulled Alinia close to
her. The Conqueror's hand slipped under her servant's tunic and found her
hardened nipple, pinching and rolling it between her thumb and forefinger.
The maid felt both her desire and her wetness growing
quickly.

Alinia
gasped, "Xena,
please. Take me. Now…"

Xena reclined on the
large ornate bed. "You know what I want,
Alinia."

The slave nodded, and
standing directly in Xena's view, slowly began to undress. Xena studied her
with a practiced eye, savoring the erect, dark nipples that were surrounded
by a sea of firmly bronzed, dark-brown flesh. Slipping one finger of each
hand under the top of her pure white breeches, Alinia slowly slid them down
and stepped out of them. Xena could feel her mouth begin to water
the moment
the lush mound of black, kinky hair was revealed to her, and it took all of
her skills not to lunge off of the bed and take her slave on the
floor where
she stood.

Alinia approached the
bed and stood there, waiting for permission. Xena gave a slight
nod, and the
slave slipped onto the bed and proceeded to straddle the warrior's chest.
Xena wriggled her way down between Alinia's thighs so that her
mouth and nose
were close to the musky wetness above. Alinia slowly lowered her sex until
she completely covered Xena's face, her knees pinning the warrior's arms to
the bed. She began rocking back and forth as the Conqueror's tongue sought
out the nectar being created just for her. Xena timed her
breathing to coincide
with the woman's movements as Alinia let up on intervals only to push back
down harder each time. This served to heighten Xena's senses, as
her lover's
pussy became her whole world.

Lips,
tongue, and teeth
ravaged the tender, young flesh being served. Alinia bit the inside of her
cheek, drawing blood, as she fought to keep herself from burying
her fingers
in her master's raven hair. Instead, she clutched fistfuls of soft, silken
bedclothes as she felt herself spiraling upward. Faster and
faster she rocked
herself on Xena's tongue and nose until finally she stiffened and exploded
in climax. Xena hungrily lapped up every sweet drop, luxuriating
in the quivering,
sopping flesh that surrounded her. Finally the warrior grunted
her satisfaction
and Alinia collapsed on top of Xena, then rolled onto the bed beside her.
The life-long friend turned and crawled into Xena's arms.

The two laid that way
for half an hour, relishing the closeness they shared. Finally
Xena stirred.
"I need to leave before Darphus comes in and finds me in my
leathers."
Alinia sighed and rose, helping the Conqueror off the bed. She gave Xena
another long hug.

"Be VERY careful,
please."

"I
will. I promise."
Xena clasped her friend's shoulder, smiled and turned to leave
through a secret
entrance she had once found while exploring her quarters. With
three possible
termini -- the stable, outside the castle walls, and the Grand Room of the
castle where the majority of business was conducted -- Xena could have come
and gone without anyone knowing. She had used the passages very
little though,
fearing that Darphus or one of his followers would find them and close them
off while she was inside and trap her in an untenable situation.
With torch
in hand to light the way, the Conqueror made her way to the
stable.

Chapter
5

Darphus paced back and
forth in his quarters. Smaller than the Conqueror's, they were
only marginally
less luxurious, a source of pride to the crude son of an Athens
street whore.
He had grown up with only the bare necessities of life, eking out
an existence
on his own when his mother died from the pox when he was eight. Robbing,
pimping, and even prostituting himself to wealthy Athenians had only made
him desire more -- more money, more power, more stature, more respect. And
while being the Conqueror's Second in Command offered some of
what he hungered
for, there was still much dissatisfaction within him, and many
times his ambition
overruled his common sense.

"How could this
have happened?" he roared to no one, waving a parchment in the air.
A messenger had brought him the news that the Conqueror had been seen the
day before in a village twenty leagues from Poteidaia -- identification had
been positive. "How in Tartarus could she have gotten out
of the castle
without anyone seeing her?"

"My lord, she IS
the Conqueror, and the threat of death would seal anyone's lips," the
messenger replied. A mousy little man of indeterminate age, he
did not realize
that the moment he spoke, his life was forfeit.

Darphus
stopped and glared
at him. "Tigus!!!" he bellowed. Darphus' personal slave appeared
from behind a curtain.

"Yes,
Master?"
he said as he bowed low.

"I want
you to talk
to the others -- kitchen slaves, house slaves, even Xena's personal slave.
Find out when she left, and how she got out of the city without
being seen."
Darphus thought a moment. "And find out where she went and when she
is due back."

"Right away, my
lord," the slave said, retreating but keeping his face
toward his master.
When he had exited the door, he straightened up and ran for the
kitchen.

The
power-seeking second
in command looked out the window that overlooked the courtyard
while turning
a dagger over and over in his hands. Maybe
this could work to my advantage, he thought. Maybe somehow, I can get the people to think Xena has
abandoned them, or that she's gone insane and had to be confined
for everyone's
safety including her own. I'd wanted to kill her myself, but I can send an
assassin and make it look as though I had nothing to do with her
death. Turn
her into a martyr for the Empire. Yes! That's it! Her body will be found
and brought back here for a state funeral, giving her the send
off the Empress
deserves. Not that the bitch really deserves it. If it were up to me, I'd
leave her out as carrion for the vultures. He sighed. By the gods, I hate having to put up appearances like
that, but a state funeral will allow everyone to see that she's
really dead.
Now who can I send to kill her once I find out where she is? He
turned and walked over to his desk, not noticing the blood that
dripped from
his hand where he had cut it by gripping the dagger by its
blade.

Chapter
6

Gabrielle's first day
on the road had been uneventful, so she had made better time than
she'd anticipated.
Three more hours of traveling tomorrow and she'd be at her grandmother's.
She drove the heavy-laden wagon off the road, through some woods to a small
camping area she and her father had often used. The area was grassy with
a few trees and bisected by a small stream. The grass provided
good grazing
for her horse while a firepit dug long ago provided a place for her to cook
her dinner. Firewood was no problem because of the unwritten
rule that campers
replace what was used from the stack that stood nearby.

After
spreading her bedroll
underneath the wagon in case of bad weather during the night and eating a
small dinner, Gabrielle walked over to the stream to wash her
face and hands.
Footprints she saw in the mud along the bank reminded her that her father
had always told her to be on her guard. Wild animals such as
mountain lions,
boars and bears often came to this stream to drink, and any one
of them could
attack her at will. She finished her tasks quickly, then hurried back to
the relative safety of the wagon, wondering if it would be better for her
to sleep in the wagon rather than under it. It only took her a few minutes
to set up a fairly comfortable spot to sleep on top of some bags of grain
and get settled in for the night.

When morning dawned,
the young woman quickly completed her tasks so she could get back
on the road.
While she enjoyed visiting with her grandmother, she hated having to spend
so much time on the road getting there. The trip was really rather boring
without her father to talk to -- she should have brought Lila.
She constantly
looked around her as she progressed, looking both for danger, and
for something
that might spark a new story she could relate to her grandmother
to get tips
on how to polish it up to use during one of her barding sessions
at the next
festival. Gabrielle's eyes shot to the right at the sound of a
snapping twig.
'Marauders trying to sneak up on me?' she thought, ”Or just a
squirrel,"
she concluded as she chuckled out loud, relieved when the small
furry creature
scampered across her path with a large, meaty nut in its teeth. 'I wonder
where that squirrel got such a large nut?' She looked around for
a nut-bearing
tree but couldn't find one. "'Maybe the squirrel's a marauder?"
Gabrielle's eyes opened wide as she pictured the little guy
outfitted in your
basic marauder outfit -- ill-fitting pants and a scruffy leather
tunic. "And
he fashions tiny twigs into arrows, and uses larger ones to make
staffs."
The young woman's mind was in full bardic gear now making up a
fanciful tale,
and before she knew it she was stopping in front of the little
house she knew
so well.

"Grandmother!"
she called as she climbed down from the wagon. "It's me,
Gabrielle!"
She tethered the horse to the porch railing and went inside. Things were
quiet. Too quiet. By the time Gabrielle reached the porch, she
knew something
was wrong. Timidly, she opened the door and walked in. The two-room house
was empty. Gabrielle turned and was heading for the barn when she saw one
of her grandmother's neighbors running up the road.

"Gabrielle!!"
The young woman was out of breath from running.

"Victria!!
Where's
my grandmother?" Victria stopped about two lengths away and held up
her hand asking for time to catch her breath. After a moment,
Gabrielle became
a bit impatient. "Victria?"

She swallowed and took
a breath. "By the gods, Gabrielle, I'm sorry to have to be the one to
tell you. Your grandmother passed to the Elysian Fields two suns
ago."
Tears began streaming down Gabrielle's cheeks. "It was peaceful. She
had been ill, and mother took her to our house to take care of her. Before
she passed, she asked for a parchment and quill, and when she was
done, asked
me to give this to you." She handed her a folded piece of parchment.
"We buried her beside your grandfather
yestersun."

Gabrielle
looked at the
parchment without really seeing it. Her grandmother, her mentor,
her friend
was gone. "Thank you Victria. You've always been a
wonderful friend."
Gabrielle hugged the dark-haired woman.

Victria returned the
hug. "You know I'm always here for you. We've known each other since
we were children -- sometimes I think even before that, in
another life, perhaps."

Gabrielle
smiled. "Perhaps.
We've had our moments, though. Remember when you accused me of
sending love
notes to your boyfriend and didn't believe me when I told you I didn't do
it?"

Victria
laughed. "We
didn't talk for a long time and I didn't think we'd ever get to the point
of being close friends again."

Gabrielle
looked at the
parchment in her hand. "I'm going to go in and read my grandmother's
note, then go visit her grave. Thank you for taking care of things for me.
Will you come back tomorrow?"

"Of course,"
the woman smiled. "I'll being you some nut
bread."

Gabrielle smiled sadly
at her once-closest friend then went back into the cabin. Victria watched
as the door closed, then turned and walked slowly up the
road.

After
putting some water
into a cup from the waterskin she'd brought inside, Gabrielle sat
at the table
and unfolded the parchment.

My
child,

If
you are reading this, you know I have passed over to the Elysian Fields.
My passing, I hope, was quiet, but I leave this life troubled by visions of
you that I have seen for the past two moons -- visions of your death. I do
not know by what means or by what hand, but it is nothing that
can be prevented.

The
only reason I want you to know of the visions is so that you can
prepare your
legacy here, in this house. To that end, hidden in our special place are
two dozen scrolls, bottles of ink, and quills. I want you to
write down our
stories so that others who pass this way might read and enjoy them. Leave
them out on the table, and with the grace of the Muses, someone along the
way will carry them to one of the great libraries in Athens or Sparta for
preservation through eternity.

You
have always been special, Gabrielle, and Hades must have
something very special
he wants you to do in Elysia. Don't fear your death. Celebrate it. Your
grandfather, father and I will be there to welcome you when Chiron's boat
docks. Until then, my child, I am,

Your
loving Grandmother.

Gabrielle re-read the
letter, trying to figure the meaning of her Grandmother's
visions. Both Gabrielle
and her ancestor had been blessed with the gift of foresight, and
often both
had the same visions. But in this instance, Gabrielle had experienced none
of the visions mentioned in the parchment.

Chapter
7

The Conqueror crouched
in the fork of a tree, high above the oft-used animal trail. She had been
tracking what appeared to be a large boar from the size of the
tracks it left.
It had been wandering toward a small stream a quarter league
away. An experienced
hunter, Xena knew that since she was upwind of the animal, this
was as close
as she dare get to it. By tethering her horse away from where
the boar would
be able to pick up its scent, and by climbing a tree so her scent would go
over the boar, she stood a good chance of catching it by surprise
and killing
it.

She'd stayed
at the inn
in Poteidaia two nights earlier and now actually found herself missing the
warm bed she'd paid for. The accommodations were actually better
than she'd
expected, reminding her of the inn her mother kept in Amphipolis. No one
had recognized her as she supped, then sat observing the townspeople while
drinking several mugs of port. She found herself actually relaxing for the
first time in a long time.

Her back to the wall
and facing the door, she listened as the people around her talked about the
events of their lives, worries and problems, the local gossip, and was even
surprised to hear the punishment she had inflicted on the soldier who had
assaulted the village girl being discussed. Interestingly, no
one disagreed
with the harshness of the decision she had handed down, and in
fact, several
applauded it. Traveling incognito, she was able to learn of the problems
created by the minor officials she had put in charge of the
province and resolved
to take care of them when she returned to Corinth. The innkeeper refilled
her mug several times, and once commented that it was too bad she
had arrived
on a night that Gabrielle, the village bard, was not available.
Perhaps the
young woman would be available to tell stories on another visit from this
tall, dark stranger. Xena had simply smiled and said she hoped
so, too, for
she loved to hear stories told well.

Xena heard something
moving in the underbrush and notched an arrow while watching and waiting.
The unmistakable sounds of a boar rooting for food drifted to her ears and
she froze, not wanting a sudden movement to draw attention to herself. As
he slowly emerged, she took stock of his weapons -- long, razor-sharp tusks
jutted from his lower jawbone, while his cloven hoofs appeared to
be as sharp
as any warrior's sword. Slowly, she drew back the string on her
bow, balancing
only on the balls of her feet, and waited for the wild pig to
come into range.
Meandering slowly along the trail, the boar stopped and sniffed
the air, picking
up the scent of an unseen enemy Xena had not detected, then slowly walked
toward the tree in which the Conqueror waited.

When the
animal was close
enough, Xena let fly with her arrow, its path straight and true.
It imbedded
itself between the boar's ribs and pierced his heart. Squealing in anger
and pain, the boar ran around in circles, trying to dislodge whatever was
hurting him. He brushed up against a rock, which only drove the arrow in
deeper. His poor eyesight mistook the tree for an enemy and he charged it,
hitting it with full force and shaking it hard. Xena teetered
for a moment,
trying to catch her balance.

The mountain lion that
had been lying in wait for the boar smelled the blood and sprang
into action,
leaping high in the air and landing on the boar's back. His
sharp claws ripped
at his prey's throat, ripping it open and sending blood flying everywhere.
The boar took a few more steps, and then collapsed. At that
moment, the Conqueror
lost her battle with gravity and fell off the branch, landing almost on top
of the boar. Her leg impaled one of the tusks, ripping it almost
to the bone,
severing an artery, her blood mixing with that of the animal she had shot.
The cougar, surprised at seeing a human in his reach, paused and
then launched
himself at the prone woman.

Xena heard the cat's
cry and looked up to see him flying at her in fury. She automatically put
her arms up to try to deflect him, but the force of him hitting
her arms bent
her elbows and he landed on top of her. His teeth and claws were
everywhere,
ripping her leathers and leaving bites and furrows in her skin. She tried
hitting him with her fists to no avail, and then managed to reach
her chakram,
which had been dislodged from her belt when she landed. Trying to get the
right angle, she sliced the cat's pelt several times, making him roar with
pain. She felt herself getting weaker from the loss of blood.
Finally, the
cat raised its head enough she was able to get the chakram under his chin
and pull it across his throat, slicing it open. The cat froze,
and then toppled
over beside her, dead. Xena lay there, trying to catch her breath and slow
her heartbeat.

Once her breathing and
heartbeat had returned to normal, the Conqueror crawled over to
lean against
a tree and take inventory of her injuries. Several small scratches would
heal quickly on their own. Her leg concerned her the most - she could see
her blood spurting out in rhythm with her heartbeat. Reaching her bow, she
unstrung it and retied the string around her leg. The bleeding slowed to
a trickle. Having treated thousands of wounds on the
battlefield, Xena knew
she needed help and needed it right away. But where? She'd passed several
small farms on her way to the hunting area -- maybe someone at one of them
could assist her. Feeling herself getting dizzy, she knew she had to act
quickly. Placing two blood-covered fingers in her mouth, she let
out a shrill
whistle. Moments later, Argo appeared in the clearing.

Giving the
dead cat wide
berth, Argo walked over to her mistress. "Hey, girl, I'm in
a mess here."
Xena grabbed onto the stirrup leather and pulled herself
upright. Argo kneeled,
lowering her back so her mistress could climb aboard, then raised back up.
Xena used her rope to secure herself to the saddle, and then let
Argo do the
rest. Not knowing the reason for it but understanding the necessity, Argo
walked slowly but surely toward the closest farmhouse, picking
her way carefully
through the underbrush. When she reached the road, Argo turned
in the direction
they had come from, trying to maintain a steady gait without jostling her
injured passenger.

Xena was
keeping a hard,
steady pressure on her leg wound where the blood had been spurting. If she
was surer of herself, she would take the time to sew it up, but her hands
were shaking and her vision blurred. She could only hope that whomever she
found to help would be able to properly stitch the wound closed
and stop the
bleeding. Fighting unconsciousness, the battered Conqueror was
only moderately
aware of her horse turning into a lane that led to a
farmhouse.

Chapter 8

When she went through
the larder of the small house, Gabrielle found that there were fruits and
vegetables which should be eaten quickly, so she made a pot of
stew that she
could feast on while packing up the things she would take back to Poteidaia
with her. Victria would be back on the morrow to take anything she wanted
and that Gabrielle could not fit into the wagon. The rest would be left in
the house for any weary travelers who might stop in for a rest or
to get out
of inclement weather.

Whenever she had some
free time, the young writer would do as her grandmother asked and put quill
to scroll to document the stories the two had devised. She began with the
stories that were the most popular when she related them at fairs and other
gatherings -- stories of the gods, of mythology, and of the
Conqueror, though
because they seldom had a happy ending, she reserved those for
her more adult
audiences. In order to make certain the stories were perfectly preserved,
she would often put down the quill and recite them from memory to
the chickens
in the yard or the bird that had landed on the windowsill. She
told the pig
and the horses of the adventures of Zeus and Ares, the cow of the beautiful
Aphrodite. She sometimes wondered if the Conqueror ever entertained a bard
at Court, or if she would even consider doing so.

Gabrielle
had also been
using the time alone to inventory the vast number of herbs and
healing potions
her grandmother had left behind on the shelves that lined the room she had
used for treating the sick and injured. The young woman planned
to take them
all with her so she could begin her own practice back in Poteidaia. Once
in a while, she would stop and caress a particular jar, one she
had seen her
grandmother use when making a poultice or solution for healing.
The memories
of her grandmother working on a treatment for a friend or
neighbor would bring
tears to her eyes. And while her grandmother had taught Gabrielle much by
word of mouth, the young healer was greatly relieved when she found a shelf
full of parchments detailing the herbs in the jars, their uses
and interactions
with other herbs. The scrolls were a godsend to her, and she
read them during
the times she wasn't packing things away.

She had just finished
putting some jars into a wooden box and was carrying it out to
the wagon when
she saw the big golden mare coming down the lane from the road.
Setting the
box on the porch, she walked out to greet her visitor.

"Hello! Are you
lost?" she called. The horse kept walking toward her, the
rider weaving
in the saddle. Oh, boy.
Another drunken
soldier, she thought. Preparing herself for an
argument, she stopped
and stood her ground. It was then that she saw the blood on the
side of the
horse and on the rider's leg.

"Please, I need
a healer," the rider croaked out. "I was injured while
hunting."

"Oh, by
the gods,"
Gabrielle exclaimed. She grabbed Argo's bit and led her quickly
to the doorway
of the house.

Xena untied the rope
holding her in the saddle and slid down to the ground, Gabrielle catching
her as she started to fall. With the young healer acting as a crutch, she
made her way inside and sat in a chair next to the dining table. Gabrielle
ran into the healing room and grabbed the box with the suture supplies in
it, then ran back to her wounded guest. She put some water in a
kettle over
the fire to heat, grabbed some clean rags and a bowl with cool water, went
back and started cleaning dried blood away so she could see where
the wounds
were.

"The worst one is
the leg, here," Xena pointed out. "I got caught on a boar's tusk
when I fell out of the tree."

Gabrielle
looked at the
long gash. "I'll definitely have to stitch that. Putting that cord
on to stop the blood flow was good thinking." She opened the box and
pulled out a long piece of thread and a needle.

Xena smiled
through the
pain, "I'm used to doing it for arms or legs that have been
sliced open
in battle."

"I'm afraid this
is going to hurt a bit -- I don't know which herb I could use to
deaden it."

"Not to
worry,"
Xena replied. Quickly, she jabbed two fingers into her leg.
"I've just
taken away the pain. You can go ahead and stitch it and I won't
feel a thing."
Gabrielle shook her head and examined the wound. She realized
she would need
to stitch the severed blood vessel first, and began with tiny,
even sutures.
"You're very good at this," her patient
commented.

"My grandmother
taught me everything I know," Gabrielle answered as she
worked. "She
was the local healer, and whenever I came to visit from
Poteidaia, she would
teach me something new." When the blood vessel was
rejoined, she reached
up and loosened the bowstring, then smiled when no new blood squirted out
from between the stitches. She removed the string
completely.

"Nicely
done,"
Xena complimented her. "Not many people realize you have to
stitch from
the inside."

Gabrielle
blushed. "Are
you a healer?" she asked.

"No, just someone
who's been around a lot of injured people. I've picked things up here and
there. I would have stitched the wound myself, but I was a
little too shaky
to do it properly."

The strawberry blond
nodded. "I can understand that -- you've lost a lot of blood."
She finished stitching the length of the wound, and then looked at one on
the hunter's upper arm. Xena jabbed her leg, again, and gasped and reeled
as the pain returned. "You all right?" Gabrielle
asked. The Conqueror
nodded. The young healer returned to her work, stopping only to make a cup
of Echinacea tea and hand it to the dark-haired woman at the
table. "Start
drinking this now and we can hopefully deep these wounds from
getting infected."

It took
three hours for
Gabrielle to attend to all the wounds, cleaning, stitching, dressing, and
putting salve on them. When she was done, she sat back. "A boar did
all that damage?"

Xena shook her head.
"No, I had to fight a mountain lion for the
pig."

Gabrielle
shook her head.
"By the Empress Xena, you are lucky you're not dead!" She stood
and helped her patient rise. "Let's get you to bed so you
can rest."

Once Xena was settled
in bed, Gabrielle went back to the healing room and looked for
one particular
jar, found it, and went back to the small kitchen and made a mug
of tea using
the powder. After the powder dissolved, she added a bit of cool water to
make it drinkable, and then took it in to her patient. She set it on the
table beside the bed and helped Xena sit up. "Here," she said as
she handed Xena the mug. "Drink this."

"What
is it?"

"It's a tea that
will help relieve the pain so you can rest." Xena smiled and took a
sip. The taste was pleasant, so she emptied the mug and handed it back to
Gabrielle.